Revelation 12:4 (ASV)

Passage

And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.

Nearby Context

Revelation 12:2 and she was the child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.

Revelation 12:3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.

Revelation 12:4 And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.

Revelation 12:5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.

Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tail", "draweth", "third", "part", "stars", "heaven", "cast", and "earth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tail" and "draweth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And there was seen another sign in..." into verse 5's "And she was delivered of a son...", so "tail" and "draweth" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "tail" and "draweth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.